The ppt describes and potraits the steps for Unification of Germany.

1. Germany is a Western European country
with a landscape of forests, rivers,
mountain ranges and North Sea beaches.

2. The unification of Germany began many
years earlier, during the Napoleonic
Wars. At the Battle of Leipzig in 1813,
which is also called the Battle of Nations,
many of the German states joined with
Russia, Sweden, and Austria to defeat
Napoleon's army. Later, in 1815, the
Congress of Vienna ended the Napoleonic
Wars.

3. 1.Changing balances of power
among the European Great Powers
in the early part of 20th century.
2.French resentment over the loss of
territory to Germany.
3.The growing economic and
military competition between
Britain and Germany

4. 1) GEOGRAPHICAL – Germany was located in the
heartland of Europe and had no natural front.
2) CULTURAL – Political developments of the
past gave rise to a dual German identity. By
the 18th century, areas to the west of the
river Elbe became the seat of French ‘high’
culture, while regions east of the Elbe
developed an anti-West and anti-Catholic
identity that defined its boundaries.

5. 3) POLITICAL – In the late 18th century, the Holy
Roman Empire was on the decline and Germany
was split up into 314 larger and smaller states
and free cities
4)SOCIAL – There was also a division along
class lines. The aristocracy was cosmopolitan in
nature. For the masses, the test of nationality
was still religion. Thus there existed a parochial
culture at the local level.

6. 5) RELIGIOUS – After the Reformation, frequent
wars took place between the German princes
and the Holy Roman Emperor. The period of
Counter-Reformation further decentralized
Germany. The Diet of Augsburg (1555) lay down
that a German province would follow the religion
of her prince. So north Germany remained
largely Protestant, while the south and west
became predominantly Catholic.

7. Bismarck came from the Junker class, who were deeply
conservative. But he also had a degree of cosmopolitanism as his
mother was of an upper middle-class origin. He occupied a
number of official posts before he became the President of the
Prussian Ministry in 1862. He attacked the idea of ideological
solidarity with Austria and pointed out that since new opportunities
were opening in Europe, Prussia must take advantage of them and
be open to new alliances . His flexible approach and diplomatic
skills were amply displayed during the 3 wars that resulted in the
Unification Germany in 1871. However it must be added that a large
part of his success was due to favourable international situation
that emerged in this period.

8. 1)War with Denmark (1863) v The first war was fought with
Denmark over the issue of Schleswig and Holstein in
1863. Prussia and Austria cooperated in liberating them.
However they did not integrate the two duchies into the
German Confederation. Instead Austria took over
Holstein and Prussia Schleswig.
2) War with Austria (1866) v This was followed by an
escalation of tensions between Austria and Prussia.
The result was a political division, with Austria and
Prussia now fighting for dominance of the Germanic
states. Bismarck might have preferred to gain his ends
without war, but he came to regard war as
indispensable.

9. 3. War with France (1870) v The next step for unification was to include
Southern Germany in the North German Confederation, which traditionally
looked to France for leadership.
There is a controversy about whether Bismarck had planned the war with
France or whether he was pushed into it by a rising national sentiment
against a traditional enemy.
In August 1870, Prussia went to war with France over the question of
succession to the Spanish throne. The French armies were defeated and
the southern states were united with the North German Confederation.
They also had to cede Alsace and Lorraine.
The German princes were induced by Bismarck to offer the crown to
William I and on January 18, 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed in
the Palace of Versaille

10. The Unification of Germany was a
watershed moment in European
history that would forever change its
political landscape. With the arrival of
a new unified German nation onto
European politics, the other powers
took note with mixed feelings of
appreciation, awe and fear.

11. EFFORTS BY
AGASTYA ARORA
X-A ROLL NO.-7